Castle Creator Clears the Air on Trimmed Love Scene and the Bogus 'Final Season' Rumor

The corner of the Internet where Castle fans congregate recently roared in light of the reveal that Rick and Kate’s first love scene originally ran longer and was screened for a small crowd at a screenwriters’ workshop — but series creator Andrew W. Marlowe maintains that viewers saw the “best” version, and that nothing “extraordinary” was left on the cutting room floor.

First, some background: Leading a panel at the Austin Film Festival last weekend, Marlowe and wife/writer-producer Terri Miller discussed how scenes that start out on paper can ultimately be shaped/tweaked during filming and editing. To illustrate the point, they played the climax of the Season 4 finale aka the seminal episode “Always,” in which a rain-soaked Beckett shows up on Castle’s doorstep after realizing her need for him; the couple then fell into a passionate clinch, the consummation of their relationship soundly assumed.

Marlowe and Miller then screened for the small crowd of about 100 a slightly longer version, which showed Kate leading Rick to the bedroom, where he removed her shirt and they eased onto the bed. As word of that “deleted” scene made its way to cyberspace, some clamored for the unseen footage to be disseminated to everyone. Besieged by tweets to that effect — some less polite than others — Miller ultimately asked fans to stop “begging,” explaining that the AFF screening was a “teaching tool.” “#RespectTheProcess,” she hashtagged.

When I spoke with Marlowe to preview the ABC drama’s November sweeps offerings, I also invited him to clear the air on the incident. At AFF, he explained, “We were talking about how when you’re editing a show, you have an opportunity to rewrite it again and make it even stronger. And we showed an example of a moment that we cut because it wasn’t helping the show out” — one of “literally dozens” such edits from over the years, he noted. In the extended “Always” scene, he said, “We had gone past the emotional peak of where Castle and Beckett were, and it felt like a denouement, like a bit of a letdown, so we made the choice to cut it. And we were showing the audience why.”

As aired, “Always” climaxed with “a moment of extreme passion, and you could fill in the rest,” Marlowe maintained. The excised 15 seconds or so, “people who weren’t [at the festival] are making it into significantly more than it is…. Certainly we understand their passion, we understand their desire, and we understand why they get mad [that it didn’t circulate]. But for us, it was something that would not have helped the show…. It’s not like they’re missing anything extraordinary.”

When it comes to Caskett’s first coupling, Marlowe believes viewers “got the best of it, and we’ve actually had better moments in the season-and-a-half after it.” That said, he understands that “people want to see it,” the longer cut. And even though the AFF crowd was asked not to record the screening, Marlowe wouldn’t be surprised if it winds up online — or on, say, the eventual Castle complete series DVD collection, “if there’s enough demand with the folks at ABC.”

Also coming out of the Austin Film Festival, distorted by an epic game of “telephone” on the Internet, was the rumor that Castle‘s seventh season — if ordered by ABC — would be its last, that Marlowe and Miller even have the series’ “organic” ending already planned out.

“I never declared Season 7 as the final season,” Marlowe corrected. “What I said is that there’s an organic ending in the show and the characters will tell me when that is. I listen to the characters, and there’s going to be a point where we’ve had the best storytelling that these characters can give us.” And in Marlowe’s mind right now, in the midst of Season 6, he says, Rick and Kate’s story “can take 10 to 12 years if everybody wants to.”

The point wasn’t that fans were upset about it not being in the episode. The point was some fans were upset that 100 people in their festival panel got to see it and the wider fanbase in general were told to STOP BEGGING because we weren’t going to be treated with the same respect.
THAT was the ISSUE.
However, let’s just say I would not be shocked it that scene were only ever released on a Complete Series Boxset to attempt to bribe folks for sales figures.
If they want to make money off it. Put it on abc website for $2 to watch. Boom. Money maker.

Apparently Jules — you missed the part where fans were acting like spoiled brats in the middle of Toys R Us when mommy and daddy told them “no.” Fans were begging quite immaturely and had that aurora of entitlement that they “deserved to see that scene.” No. You don’t. What fans deserved was a good swift kick in the pants and told to grow up. Good things come to those who act like adults—not five year olds.

But James I live in Europe…. How can i see the comic cons extra things??? I fly to the States?! So I’m very greatful for that people who put stuffs on Youtube or links on Twitter… I could be rich… An have money to pay the comic cons…

this. i honestly don’t care if the scene wasn’t used in the final cut, what i do care is the fact that 100 were given preference because they could afford it/live near by. Every fan who didn’t attend the panel deserves to see the footage, because we all contributed to the show’s success. #notfair

Gotta love that whole “we DESERVE” BS. Actually you don’t. Watch the show, don’t watch the show, do what you want. But no you don’t deserve it and throwing tantrums says more about Caskett fans than the forever classy Marlowe and Miller

it wasn’t a panel given to fans. it was a panel given to students/professionals about production and editing. it was used for educational purposes. it has nothing to do with living near anything or being able to afford anything.

I can afford a $70,000 car does that mean you deserve to own that car for free? Because that’s essentially what you’re saying. You deserve everything everyone else has to pay money for. Life is a bitch. Get use to it.

And you’re rewarded for your “loyalty” with additional episodes and seasons. You are owed nothing. You think you deserve to watch every little piece of footage that’s ever been filmed because you watch a stupid show for free from the comfort of your home? Stop acting like a spoiled brat and grow up. Life is going to be hard for you if you feel like this is a legit disappointment.

Thank you for wonderfully personifying a large portion of what’s wrong with viewers and fans of pop culture nowadays. Unearned Entitlement at its finest.

How did you contribute? Are you a Nielsen family? If not, you’ve contributed nothing to its ratings. You may have bought the DVDs, which entitles you to be able to watch the episodes any time you want. That’s all.

That’s the issue? In what manner are people sitting at home watching Castle the equal of – and thus deserving of “equal respect” to – people who purchased tickets and attended the Austin Film Festival?

You seem to have completely missed the point. It was 15 seconds of nothing that took away from the scene shown to 100 people as a teaching tool. They didn’t show it to screw the fanbase over and won’t show it to you because it doesn’t matter. The fact that you feel like you’re owed it is beyond ridiculous. They put out an episode every week, that’s all you’re owed. You are not owed every piece of footage lying on the cutting room floor because you watch a show and you want it.

Exactly dude! People are more than ready to accept that they were correct than wrong. Now that the whole issue has been brought to light, it’s evident how disgusting & unwarranted the behavior of a minority of Castle fans have been towards Terri, and now they have no place to hide from the rest of the Castle fandom. Hence it is easier for them to claim that we have missed the point!

Sorry Jules but you kinda missed the whole point here. The people in the festival panel didn’t go to the panel to see a unseen-video clip from ‘Castle’. They went there to listen to Andrew Marlowe & Terri giving their input on the ‘post-production part’ of a TV Episode. Hence they used an extended-version of the ‘Always’ scene to show that it has less effect than the final cut-version, as an example of what they were teaching. Talking about respect: It was the fans who destroyed their respect (and the respect of the other fans who didn’t send insulting tweets & were not sweating their lives on the extra scene too) by sending insulting tweets to Terri, which is what prompted Terri to ask the fans not to beg for the scene..not the other way round as some people like you seem to think. It’s all explained in the article above..read the article properly first before commenting!
THIS IS THE ISSUE!

You are right on. From the time Castle opens the door and Beckett comes in, the way the scene plays out from her kissing Castle until they lock hands and wonder off into the night, that put the dot on the I and the writers left the fans imagination alive and well. I’m sure most fans doubts were put to rest as the next morning (Still Episode) put a seal on the Caskett relationship. Andrew and Terri have a way of keeping the fans, most fans, tuned into the story lines and that’s why we keep coming back for more.

A 5 second longer sex scene is something i dont care about compared to a lot of the other huge issues this season (Pi, Alexis etc), i think those are the questions i would be asking if i were one of the 100 at a panel or got a interview with Marlowe. Clarify what in the word was the point of Pi and is it going exactly how he wanted/thought it would? Same Q about Alexis. I think it says something when a character is as hated/wanted to see dead as Pi is on a hit show like Castle, and when a fan favorite (Alexis) goes from said fan-favorite status to very controversial and disliked by the fans.

And a number of people were rudely demanding of the deleted scene. I understand The point of the panel. Fans seem to think they are entitled to everything and can bully their way to it all. So they said Stop begging. Big deal. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves. The Caskett fanbase is one of the most catered to fandoms in all of TV right now but it’s never enough, right?

it’s like marlowe doesn’t ever listen to what fans are actually upset about. people weren’t upset that it wasn’t in the episode, they were upset that a select 100 people got to see it and then the fandom was told not to beg for it, which was rude and condescending.

it’s just like how marlowe thinks people don’t like the alexis story line because they just want to see castle and beckett making out all the time. completely false. they don’t like the actual story line because it doesn’t make sense and it’s just terrible to watch. it’s been done really badly, not to mention that alexis was already an unpopular character. marlowe only hears what he wants to hear. he never actually tries to understand the words people are saying; he just assumes he knows what they mean and he often assumes wrong.

No to all this. People actually complaining they didn’t get to see an extended scene are immature and greedy and deserve to be told to stop begging – AND stop harassing someone on Twitter. Grow up. This is a tv show. Stop whining when they aren’t telling the story YOU want to see. Plenty of people are adult enough to understand the Alexis storyline and wait and see where it’s going. Yet the vocal minority thinks it knows everything.

harassing people on twitter is obviously stupid and immature. that’s totally true. but the treatment of fans in this instance was also rude. marlowe shouldn’t have even bothered commenting on this- it just brought it up again.

So how about showing the scene and let the viewers decide if they were missing something extraordinary or not? They still don’t get it, do they? A few select people got to see the scene and the rest were told to respect the process. That’s like saying there are viewers and then there are subpar viewers.

Well I would have gone to the panel, but I don’t live in the States. How is that my fault? They did pick the fans, they picked the fans that could afford to see it.
AND There is probably tons of different footage. Was it necessary for them to show THAT scene, knowing what will happen? It wasn’t!

Not only did a certain “showrunner” insult the fanbase, they didn’t even have the guts to tell us fans in a classy manner, but instead they condescendingly told us to stop begging and respect the process. The way the “showrunners” handled this situation was terrible and it made me lose respect for the show. This isn’t the first time this “showrunner” has handled criticism on twitter like that, they’ve often come off as condescending and that’s just not how you deal with your fans. Maybe next time treat your fanbase (the reason why your show is still on the air) with some respect. That’s all.

Either you’re completely ignorant of the fact that a lot of so called “Castle Fans” harassed Terri/AM on twitter, or you’re aware of the fact and you’re just being an idiot. How would you reply to a bunch of people who treated you that way? Not all that friendly is what most people would do. He’s being more than respectful by addressing a topic when there is absolutely no need to.
I love Castle as much as the next Castle fan, but a scene that AM/other writers deemed unnecessary (as in not adding much) is totally legitimate. They do what is best for the show. EVERY SINGLE SHOW will cut out sex/make out/kiss scenes for sure because they believe it’s what makes the episode better. They don’t just film it and delete it for no good reason……
God people relax. You can’t miss what you haven’t had; the episode was amazing as is.

Totally agree. I am glad the edit happened where it did. Much more powerful and passionate. And I get that it was a teaching tool to show people how the final edit of a scene can really add to the storytelling. You can see how some shows are so good at the edit while others milk scenes until they lose their umph. I find the lesson of it that he was trying to show in amongst MANY clips of edits really interesting. Why do people care???

As a big Castle fan, when this news first hit even I was a bit angry at them for not showing this extented scene to eveveryone. I think everyone was better off without knowing it existed lol
Now, I’m over it honestly. I’m grateful for AWM for addressing it & mking this statement. I actually understand their decision & honestly it’s their show so it’s the way they want it to be.Marlowe does usually give fans what they want & that’s probably why he is my fav showrunner of all. That’s why fans do feel entitled when actually we shouldn’t really.
As a Caskett shipper of course I want that footage lol but I respect their decision. Now all we can hope for is that one day ABC does release it as a treat to fans.
Aside from that, I hope this matter just comes to rest already & ppl enjoy what we are actually getting. S6 Caskett wise has been pure fanfic.
Also of course I hope Castle never ends lol but all good things come to an end. I’ll be happy with 7 seasons, anymore will be a bonus for me :D

“And we were showing the audience why.” Which does not necessarily mean you made the right choice from a fan’s perspective… shippers, in particular, aren’t necessarily looking for the most beautiful direction as much as the maximum amount of screen time & physical contact between their couple.

(I personally am glad it ended where it did, and I think Marlowe is a pretty wonderful and generous showrunner when it comes to appeasing fans, but I think it’d be nice if we could have the option to watch it as a separate “extended” scene. It’s extra footage! People like that a lot. Does it cost a bucket of extra money to put it on YouTube or something?)

They shoot tons of extra footage — some of which might be good — but we don’t get to see it. i’d rather see more behind-then-scenes stuff– but we don’t get it. there’s ton more bloopers and we dont get to see it.

Honestly I wouldn’t give a s*** about the extended sex scene had they actually given us scenes fans were dying to see after Always… but sadly we got nothing, NADA! Ever since Caskett got together, they’re so chaste and void of chemistry on some nights I wonder if Marlowe is even watching the same show. LOL he says”we’ve actually had better moments in the season-and-a-half after it” – hell no we didn’t. They can barely get Nick Castle out of the damn white sheets, and there is absolutely nothing sexy about Caskett – they were actually kinda boring after Always. So it was a huge let down… had Marlowe given us fans something to chew on last season fans wouldn’t be -begging- for anything.

That’s actually it. I don’t think this messy situation has to do with anything more than fans wanting to see more Caskett passion. They’re starving for it, so they’re going nuts over this scrap of footage. There hasn’t been anything close to Always ever since it aired. The show goes for cute comedic love scenes – like in the Hamptons – while fans want intense and dramatic, which Always had.

I’ve already have five seasons of Castle DVDs. I will not be spending more for a series boxset. So if there is one, I’ll watch any of the extras on youtube, including the expanded scene.

I agree with the post above. It was the disrespect to the fans shown by Marlowe and Miller. First, by only showing a select few the scene, and then reprimanding those who wanted to see it. Respecting the process goes both ways.

“A teaching moment”? Wow, these guys take themselves way too seriously. It’s a “dramedy” tv show, not a PhD-level Shakespearean seminar! At this late date, what will it hurt the showrunners to release the deleted portion of the scene??? Hollywood ego trips…

Yes, a *teaching moment*. AWM and TEM were TEACHING a seminar about screenwriting not just sitting in front of a bunch of fans at a fan showcase of some sort. It is very (most probably) likely that a good portion of the attendees weren’t even Castle fans, they were there to learn more about how screenwriting on a successful show occurs; it’s hard work and not everything that you write makes it to screen, even though the fans think it should.

“Teaching a seminar”??? The article said it was a panel at the Austin
Film Festival. Like a convention, anyone can attend. Where did you get “seminar” out of this? If “a seminar for writers” was the case, then that detail should have been provided. That WOULD change my reaction to the information provided.

It WAS a seminar for aspiring screen writers it was NOT a Castle panel of some sort. And almost everyone on twitter knew and knows that! The Austin Film Festival is something that Andrew Marlowe and his wife Terri Miller attend often/regularly and among other things there this year, they decided to give insights into the screen writing process for other aspiring screen writers. They chose for this particular teaching seminar the episode “Always” and NOT all of the people in the room were Castle fans.
It wasn’t a convention AT ALL!!! It was the Writers Guild Foundation presenting a Scribble-to-Screen-Exibit and Marlowe and Miller were chosen as one of the presenters. And they did so by choosing “Always” as an example. It was a workshop for people interested in becoming screen writers! THAT IS ALL!!!

Here is a description of the schedule since I’m not sure if we can post links here:

“At this year’s Festival, the WGF will present its SCRIBBLE TO SCREEN exhibit, packed with early production materials and handwritten drafts from epochal works like Kasdan’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Matthew Weiner’s “Unidentified Black Males” episode of THE SOPRANOS, Winnie Holzman’s MY SO-CALLED LIFE, and more.”

And the “and more”-part here is where Marlowe/Miller fall under. And it is described like this:

“CASTLE: INSIDE THE 100th EPISODE. Series masterminds Terri Edda Miller and Andrew Marlowe take you on a journey through the construction of the centennial episode of CASTLE. Two writers writing about another writer might seem like a simple process — but they’ll show you just how detailed the CASTLE writers’ room gets… and whether they also use Richard Castle’s “You should be writing!” screen saver to keep themselves on task”

*Sneaks a handful as well*
Seriously, though, I can see both sides here. If a show I like has some extra footage lying around, fun moments, things related to big deal storylines, etc., heck yeah, I’d want to see it, I don’t care how significant/insignificant it is! It’s just fun to see what else they had planned, see for myself if it would’ve added to or detracted from a scene or episode. I totally get the curiosity, and especially understand it even more if you weren’t able to attend an event where it WAS shown to others-I get the “not fair!” complaint, believe me, I do.
At the same time, however, god, I’ve missed out on SO many cool events because I didn’t live close by to where they took place, or didn’t have the money to go. It sucks, absolutely, and I envy anyone who gets to experience that stuff. But if it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen. I’ve learned to live with that fact, and just hope that a day will come when I CAN get a chance to go to something cool and fun like that.
I also know that if the people who work on a show want to share extras and other goodies related to their series, in this day and age, they WILL find a way. And it’s totally fine for fans to ask the showrunners if there’s ever a chance they’ll get to see this stuff as well! But they need to do so POLITELY. If there was indeed any nasty threats/comments towards the creators in relation to this particular situation, then yeah, they have every right to tell you to back off, and don’t have to be polite in their response to such nasty behavior, either (for a similar comparison: I work in retail. I’m sure as hell not going to be MORE inclined to help a customer who’s being rude to me, after all).

So these people went and showed a deleted love scene to only a few select people but not the rest of us. That’s mean. Heck they didn’t even include it in the DVDs (never buying a DVD again btw). So not only did they tell us such scene exists but in turn we’re bashed for wanting to see it. Wow. Talk about low blow. I spend my hard earned money on this show and they say we shouldn’t beg for a scene that I’m dying to see. Geez. Also thanks for talking down on us fans Terri, I really appreciate that. I hope you respect the process as well.

Holy cow. For the most of people “begging” it was never about it not making the episode. I think most of us would agree that the way the episode ended was perfect. The “begging” politely or otherwise – and I don’t for a second condone the otherwise – was because 100 fans got special treatment and then the millions of others, who have kept the show on the air were told, tough bananas. You’re not getting it. Ha. And told in a way that was less that respectful in a tweet that was, ironically, disrespectful.

For me, I felt let down not only because I wasn’t valued or respected enough as a fan to be given the same treatment as 100 other lucky souls, but that I was then derided for having a reaction.

But then again, it seems right now that if you don’t agree with TPTB or drink the Castle Kool Aid, you either don’t understand the complexity of the story/character or you’re just being demanding and ridiculous.

THIS. entirely. they get defensive and say you don’t understand their intention or assume you want something insane from the show if you don’t agree with tptb or fawn over their choices. they ignore the majority of opinions when it suits them and only listen to people who agree with them. it justifies their bad story telling and making choices like having a story line featuring alexis even though she’s the least liked character around. and then, if you don’t like that story line it must be because you’re being demanding and don’t understand their intention. it’s so dumb.

This wasn’t the first time a reasonable request from was answered with a snide tweet – surely they were not stupid enough to think that once it was known such footage existed, people would want to see it. It’s not a mere matter of feeling entitled, it’s part of the natural curiosity which comes with being invested in a tv show. Fans pay money to go to Austin, they go to Paley and CC and buy the books and DVDs because they are hungry for more than is available 42m per week for 22-24 weeks of the year and MilMar and ABC are happy to profit from that interest. Telling people not to beg was really an extraordinarily rude way to say I’m sorry we’re not allowed to release it to the general public, and from what I saw, that was what really pissed people off.

First- thanks Matt for asking Marlowe about this! You always listen to what the posters are asking and/or are wanting to know. Now to the article itself- I’ve always thought Castle fans are exceptionally lucky in the amount of information and respect given to us. So many other shows don’t have that luxury. Unfortunately you run into those that feel its never enough. Was it smart to show that particular scene? Probably not but I don’t think it was done out of any bad intent, nor do I feel that it was insulting in anyway to tell these certain extreme fans to “stop begging”. The sense of entitlement has really gotten out of control.

I think if the reaction from Ms Miller had been phrased better, this latest attempt at damage correction wouldn’t have been needed. Between this and the Alexis Ridiculousness, it ain’t all rosy in the Castle garden right now. For fans or for the writers.

Yes I agree with your first statement, but I’m just going to say it’s hard to address the fans on twitter when the little box can only hold 120 or so characters. Plus, the writers are people with feelings to you know? If you have a thousand people yelling at you, how would you respond? Calmly? Maybe, but it was in that moment I believed that they were (terri) was under pressure. So please just cut them some slack! They already have the burden of making new episodes every week for us.
I honestly like the Alexis deal….. but that’s just me. Nothing else to comment for that.

there’s no way marlowe didn’t know the fans would have a bad reaction to not being able to see a scene like that after knowing it exists. that’s another problem with the way this has been done. marlowe is fully aware and has talked to fans on twitter about the lack of passionate castle/beckett scenes in the show. he KNOWS there are a lot of fans who desperately want one. to acknowledge that a more passionate version of always exists, or that a bed scene of any kind exists, to show it to 100 people and then refuse to let others see it… c’mon. there’s no way marlowe couldn’t see this reaction coming; you’d have to be stupid not to.

that said, i also think this attempt at damage control was unnecessary and just brought the issue back up again. this would’ve been a time when it would’ve been best to say nothing. damage has been done, leave it alone. the only thing an interview like this does is remind people that they still can’t see it.

I’m just disappointed with this show after Always. I was really looking forward to Caskett getting together but everything crashed and burned on that part for me. They had the chance to do something amazing with these two and it was such a huge let down. Everything from last season and this season so far has just compounded into a big disappointment for me. The whole issue with the deleted scene from Always just feels like another downer for myself. It’s a bummer that some class got to see this scene but the millions of fans out there who support the show are told to shut up and stop begging. Stay classy Castle team.

Good god people – if you really need to see two people walk towards a bed and get it on go and look at the rest of the internet ….. isn’t that what it was designed for? It’s AM’s show and he can do with it what he wants. This whole “we deserve to see it” BS is beyond unbelievable!!

IMHO, I still enjoy the show immensely.. I am really enjoying the ease of the Caskett relationship in season 6. I totally get why the end scene in ALWAYS was edited.. And why, when you are teaching a seminar about TV making and showrunning (not Shakespearean drama) you would want to explain why sometimes.. Less is more.

So Matt…what about the November sweeps stuff? Will we be seeing that soon? please?

As for the sex scene stuff, this 5 seconds will not change a thing. They are together. The show has moved on and it will not enhance or change anything. I am not offended as I do not have Twitter and nothing was addressed toward me As a fan. I am a huge fan of the show and a Caskett Shipper and I am focusing on all that we have been as fans given during the run of the show. Someone said it best – its their show. No one even knew it existed before and people were mostly happy with the pairing. I am sad to see all the complaining this season from fans. We all have a right to voice our opinions but it has gotten so out of hand this year. Be kind to the writers – they have the power to take it all away with one head injury and an amnesia story. Not that they would…hopefuly.

The season just started, and really there’s no hurt in addressing Alexis who plays a huge role in Castle’s and soon Beckett’s life. Alexis hasn’t gotten a whole ton of screen time, and I’m not saying that means she deserves more. I’m just saying I think it was prudent of the writers to deal with more facets besides just Caskett. I mean the first 5 seasons were basically dealing with Castle and Beckett friction and problems. Isn’t it okay for Alexis to ONCE have a problem that creates tension?
Life doesn’t just revolve around Caskett, and I think the Alexis arc is wonderful even though she is annoying. I like her and the rest of the characters on the show. Find me weird that I also like Jerry Tyson and Bracken? Yes so be it. I’m weird. I like them in the sense that they add more dimension to the show. Foil characters. FTW.

The irony here, is the fans that are acting like entitled spoiled brats are the ones that AWM is politely telling to calm down and be reasonable. All the while writing Alexis as an entitled spoiled brat and trying to sell it that she’s totally within her rights to be mad and disrespectful. Fans aren’t allowed the same understanding as young Miss Castle it seems.

Mr Marlowe it was never about it being in the episode it was about favoritsm and more specifically Ms Miller’s attitude in her tweet. We love you guys and we respect you immensely, it’s hard when that emotion is shown not to be returned. That’s all.

I get how exciting it can be to have ‘new unseen’ footage for something you’re passionate about. But its never an excuse to harass a show runner for cutting it out or not. Decisions have to be made and Marlowe hasn’t led us astray yet; clearly he works with a great team to deliver us the best show possible.
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Above all else, we have to respect the creative drive of the show.
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And thats what DVD extras are for.

The Austin Film Festival is not a fan event. It is an INDUSTRY event. They likely didn’t show it to 100 fans; probably a mix of fortunate/hardcore fans and aspiring screenwriters familiar with Castle.
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Was it dumb? Kind of, yeah. Does their “lesson” make sense for new writers who likely won’t be executive producing at their next gig, and thus not in a position to make those creative calls? Nope, not really.
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But holy jeez, the way people responded… Makes me wonder how people look at Castle fans in general. O_o Do fans want to be taken seriously or regarded as zealots?

Industry events like fests don’t have “Fan Radar” or anything to cry aspiring professionals from TV fans looking for any insight they can gather about their favorite show.
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I don’t get the point of the lesson they gave with the extended scene, but it clearly wasn’t a deliberate attempt to reward some fans over others. I doubt either Marlowe or Miller realized how many fans would be there.
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Do we even know how many were in attendance? I figured it was just a small handful.
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Anyway, as much as I complain about the show here, I don’t see how they handled it badly. People harassed them on Twitter for DAYS. It was really quite bizarre.

JOT – I’m sure I’m going to regret commenting on this article later when someone tears me apart, but I’m a glutton for punishment, so here I go. Like you’ve previously stated, this wasn’t a fan event. It was an industry event that happened to have some fans in the audience (who also happened to be professionals). It’s not as if ABC or Miller and Marlowe held a contest and the lucky winners got to see the deleted scene, while Miller and Marlowe stood off-stage and chuckled about depriving the rest of the fans of seeing it. I don’t think it was malicious. And intent should be taken into account, in my opinion. I wouldn’t mind seeing the scene. But I’m not that mad about not seeing it. The panel was about that specific episode and they chose to show the deleted footage. Was it the best idea they’ve ever had? No. But I don’t think they meant any harm. Should they have known it would get out of control? Yup. I think fans of the show have proven that on other issues. Does that give the fans the right to be aggressive and harass Miller and Marlowe? No. And yeah, the show wouldn’t have lasted without the fans. But there wouldn’t have been a show to begin with without Miller and Marlowe. I shake my head more at the fans than the deleted scene being shown. Terri Miller didn’t handle the situation well. But I’m sure (since this occurred while Pi was around) that she was inundated with angry tweets about the deleted scene and about how she and Marlowe are ruining the show (and the characters) with the Alexis drama. She’s human. Everyone hits a breaking point where they snap and say something they shouldn’t. That doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It just means they’re human. Sometimes people need to see things from another perspective. I’m not saying the fans shouldn’t be disappointed about the deleted scene. But there are ways of voicing that disappointment without attacking someone on Twitter. Or by refusing to vote for the actors for People’s Choice Awards. It was out of hand. Yes, Terri Miller made a mistake. She said something that offended people. She’s also a human being. And human beings make mistakes. In my opinion that doesn’t give anyone the right to harass them about said mistake. But that’s just me.

Hello Logical and Realistic Person, so nice to see someone with common sense in a comment section….. I always wonder why I bother scrolling down to any comment section on a website these days. But I for one agree with you 100%. Now…. let the ripping begin….

Erin, I will second everything you’ve said about it being refreshing to see a logical viewpoint! I, too, don’t know how I read some of these comments anymore. Kim and JOT- as always- thank you for being so logical and level-headed!

Well thank you, Erin and Francine. :) It’s nice to be appreciated. Also, Francine, I saw that you posted elsewhere on here and I totally agreed with what you wrote. I just didn’t respond because I didn’t want to write out everything I wanted to say more than once. :) Oh, and there is another Kim that posted farther up on here and that was not me. These are the only two posts I’ve written. Just wanted to toss that out there so no one would think I have two completely different opinions on this topic. Again, thank you both!

Agree with your points, too, Kim & Francine! Hope it blows over soon.
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Besides, the show has bigger – and more current/immediate/salient – problems than a 15-second showing of skin, in my opinion. :-P

It was handled badly to say the least. They can’t release a scene every Caskett fan has been wanting to see since the show started and not release it to everyone. They had to know the reaction they would get or they are completely out of touch with their fan-base. This is the last Marlowe series for me. I’m done after Castle, and if Marlowe thinks Nathan’s going to hang around after Season 7 with the declining writing he’s wrong.

According to the few ppl who saw it, we did miss something extraordinary. And we understand that the scene wasn’t helping the show. That’s not the point. That doesn’t explain not putting it on the DVD and showing it to some, but not all and disrespecting us when we ask to see it, but asking us to respect your “process”! It doesn’t work that way. That just fuels the fire.

Thanks for addressing the ‘season 7 will be the last’ rumour that came out of the panel. I’m curious though did Andrew address how Castle will proceed going forward next season (assuming it gets picked up for another season) given his and Terri’s commitment to the Phillip Matlow series assuming it gets a pick up next year? Will they be involved in both or hand over the reigns to someone else on Castle?

First, I couldn’t care less about the scene itself. I don’t watch Castle for romance, I watch it for comedy. But I’ve witnessed this story unfold on Twitter and have to say, the showrunners handled it very poorly. Not only teasing it was obviously intended just to boost future Complete series DVD sales (even Marlowe admits it), but the attitude about it was just incredibly condescending and disrespectful to fans. And i’m not even one of those who always see everything through the Castle fan prism, like those bashing the actors for having lives or demanding characters to be killed off etc. But man… #RespectTheProcess my a$$. Those guys need a reality check. It’s not Shakespeare, it’s light entertainment. Everyone knows you do it for money first of all, and while artistic integrity is awesome, fan respect is your bread and butter. Especially when this “integrity” aims only at boosting DVD sales and adding some buzz about your “workshop”.

Hey, I’m totally fine with Castle not being Breaking Bad, but I’d appreciate if the creators had some of that sense of humor and self-awareness with which they started their show.

You know, I think it would actually help fans “respect the process” if they actually saw the same thing that the panel in Austin did, with the extra fifteen seconds. Because then fans who are interested in all the extras could watch both and go, “Yeah, I think we did get the best version of that. Good call.” When something like this happens, it’s not really the fandom at large. The fandom at large might never know that more exists. They’re happy watching their hour of show every Monday because it’s a great show. It’s just the very intensely interested segment of the fanbase who watch the DVD commentary, and the behind the scenes extras, and make fan art, and write fanfic and have tumblr accounts. The extras complete their experience of the show. I can understand not wanting to give into the demands of fans behaving like toddlers, but I think it’s also something simple they could do in the future that would make a segment of their fanbase really happy. There isn’t much to lose by releasing it.

I don’t think Andrew Marlowe is going to be happy with that solution either, because it runs counter to his point that it was cut for a reason. Although we want to see it, there has to be an instance where using it would add to the story in some way. So, he’d have to find a reason where showing that footage wouldn’t just be a toss-in to an episode, and then he’d end up trying to construct an episode around using that piece of footage and in the end it wouldn’t be as good, because that’s a lot of work for 15 seconds of video. I think that maybe, some day, they’ll throw it out there as an extra….if the fandom stops throwing a hissy fit about it.

Secret footage of a tv show shown at a film festival to only 100 people or so and the fans react with outrage and anger?
Definetly a deja vu moment for a Doctor Who fan.

This discussion will go on for some weeks but after that the fervour among fans will reside. Just watch the show and enjoy every aspect of it. Eventhough I do also wish that Pi just disapears off the screen.

You know, I don’t understand their logic.
They thought that they were going to show that scene to a few people and the rest of the fans wouldn’t want to see it? The fans waited 4 years for them to be together, 4 years for a bedroom scene.
I get why they cut the scene, I really do.
And “Always” will always be my favorite episode ever, but now that we know that there is a bedroom scene, will they really judge us for wanting to see it??
And no, I don’t agree with those rude fans who made threats and insulted them. But as a fan of the show since the beggining, I would really like to see the scene.
Besides, let’s be honest, what harm would it do to show us the scene now?
I trust Marlowe and I think he is doing a really good job with the show, but I felt really let down about this.

Thank you Matt for this article and asking AWM about it. I wasn’t even aware of it until i read it in the comments last week. I personally could care less about an extra 15 seconds of them making out, to me its more about the long journey these two go through rather then the short fix of watching them make out. i understand peoples frustration with not be able to see it, but to start spaming twitter pages and acting like disrespectful recalcitrint children is not understandable and unacceptable just as it is to call Molly Quinn names because you don’t like the character she plays. unfortunatly its the internet and in our society people beleive they can write any acinine thing that pops into their heads. I wish it would stop and we can all act like adults, but i don’t hold much hope that it will.

I don’t understand why we can’t just see it if others already have. It may have been used as a “teaching tool” for aspiring writers, but there were fans there because someone who was there said they they got a big reaction when they announced that they were going to show the scene. Do they think even know the fans if they think that we wouldn’t want to see it? I’m sorry, but we have not had better scenes since then. Every single time they kiss it’s either so darkly lit that you can barely even see it or it only lasts for about 3 seconds. Even if we did get a scene like the one that they cut in Always (which is highly unlikely at this point) it wouldn’t be the same because it wouldn’t be there first time. My opinion would be slightly different if once they learned that we wanted to see the scene, they were sympathetic and said they understood but ABC wouldn’t allow it, but instead we were told not to beg and “respect the process”. Marlowe may not think much of the scene but I saw a comment from someone who saw it and said they couldn’t stop thinking about it afterwards and that they were blown away at how passionate and vulnerable both of them were. If they think the fans who have kept the show on the air don’t deserve to see it, that just doesn’t seem fair. I don’t want to have to wait for them to release a complete series DVD box set just to see it.

Castle fans got it good. I mean shippers.
Try being a House fan who enjoyed the House/Cuddy pairing and having an entire episode – their first episode together as a couple having a whole long awaited date day – scrapped for not so mysterious reasons.
It makes you gain perspective on other show that are actually far more generous with their audience and that are handling things right.

Said it before & I’ll say it again, there’s a certain noisy group of Castle fans that’s super creepy. The way they get off on every touch or look Castle & Beckett give each other as though their lives depend on it – sad & weird. Not to mention the bizarre hatred they have for Marlowe & how they analyze him like they know him. Now a kerfuffle centering on entitlement – not surprising one bit. They keep me far away from show forums and anything related.

Yes I was upset about the Always but I got over it. It’s just a tv show. Then a certain writer thought that a tweet should shut us all up. If her tweet didn’t come across as condescending I still wouldn’t give an f about not seeing the scene but it did. These two need serious customer relations. I hope season 7 is the last. I don’t trust Marlowe to hold my interest for ten seasons. Most of the fans watch it for Caskett and to show this scene to some but not others was always going to rile up the fandom. If these two didnt realise it they’re seriously out of touch with their fans or making a smart move to release it later for money. and FYI Terri i didn’t beg for anything. Don’t tar us all with the same brush

Your comment about Terri…..she wasn’t necessarily talking about the ENTIRE Castle Fandom. She was talking about the people who did beg. Take a chill pill on that point.
I honestly love how Castle’s going, and the ratings prove that Castle isn’t sinking yet. Emphasis on the yet because some angered fans may have watched the last few episodes hoping for something. But I love it, and I’m going to continue watching it.
I respect your opinion, and I’m just stating my own.

“Respect the process” my ass how about abc and the creators of the show respect the fans. We kept the show alive for 5 seasons. I feel so cheated that at the time always aired it was said that there wasn’t any bonus footage of “the scene.” Terri doesn’t care or know the fans at all if she thought fans wouldn’t be peeved about not seeing that scene.

‘K’…please! Read the article first. Know all the facts. What happened exactly, before commenting like a mad man. If you did everything I mentioned, you would know that it was the fans who started pestering Terri & when she didn’t release the clip, they started insulting her. Not the other way round. Plus AM & Terri used to clip to show how the ‘post-production’ process of an episode works. It was purely coincidental that they used the ‘Always scene’. You might feel cheated & insulted, but myself & the rest of the Castle fandom doesn’t feel so. We feel grateful to AM & co for giving us 5 seasons of Castle magic.

Exactly. Thank you for saving me the time for addressing that comment above.
Spot on. And definitely yes on the “we feel grateful to AM and co for giving us 5 seasons of Castle magic” AWM/writers chose to cut out the scene, and I’m sure it wasn’t because there wasn’t enough time. Simply, he removed it for the fans to determine how it really went. I absolutely prefer that over some sex scene. People just forget about the “extra” scene; if you enjoyed Always/end of Always, then be happy. Don’t complain about something WAYY in the past. Season 5 for me was especially wonderful. To be a romantic couple, you don’t need to have sex every freaking episode. I thought their interactions were beyond excellent and true to real relationships. (Or what I think are real relationships. I haven’t had one.)